** spoiler alert ** Sherrilyn Kenyon, though she uses the same formula in her Dream-Hunter books, hero who lives a life of abuse and suffering, and a heroine whose gentle, loving ways who balances it out, she manages to make each hero and heroine unique and likeable.

Jericho, nee Cratus, son of Warcraft and Hate, 6,000 years ago a powerful god, on Zeus' assassin team, untouched by any gentleness except from his sister Nike - in what he saw as weakness, when about to kill an infant (half human, half Oneri), he succumbs to the mother's pleas and the infants smile and saves the infant, taking her to a peasant family to raise (not knowing that she is his destiny). He returns to Zeus and manfully takes his punishment, stripped of his god powers, left on earth without any ability to keep money or possessions (when we meet him he is living in one room with a single holey blanket), attraction to women but impotence if they get close, pain to anyone he might befriend, and regular visits from Zeus' badmen who torture (ripping out organs, beating him up, etc.) and dropping him into bad situations (a Spartan camp).

And then we have Delphine (the infant Jericho saved). She is a Dream Hunter, able warrior against the Skoti, has a little more feeling than other Oneri as she is half human, avoider of the Olympians (out of sight, out of mind) and their machinations, beautiful (of course).

and the Olympians are facing a new threat - the attack of Noir and Azura - blackness of the Source. They want access to the Malichi (Nick) because with him on their side, they would stomp out all pantheons & the world of humans... and they are kidnapping, drugging, killing and seducing Oneri and Skoti - so as to find Nick in his dreams. Delphine is asked to persuade Jericho to join them, (if they can also get Zeus to give him back his power), because his power is like theirs, from the Source, making him more effective.

But before Delphine asks, Noir has taken Jericho and made a deal with him, his help if he gets his powers back, then he give Jericho Delphine as his slave (having seen him hesitate when looking over the last set of Oneri they captured). He treats Delphine with respect (covering her nakedness), and the two make tentative strikes at 'getting to know' each other, and then Noir drugs Delphine to make her sexually aggressive (but Jericho satisfies her with oral sex, not intercourse - though he really wants to sink into her), and Jericho releases the band that took away her power, and they join forces.

Joined by Ash and Jared (whom they eventually free from Zephyra), they free many Oneri & Skoti - and we learn that Zeus cursed the Oneri, taking away their emotions, physically punishing them, and killing the children of the Oneri & human combos because of a prophecy, not because of a bad dream one had given him. Jericho goes to Zeus to gain the return of the Oneri emotions (so that they would be motivated to fight Noir) - though Zeus requires his promise to serve him (which he agrees to in an effort to keep Delphine safe) - but when Zeus learns she is the one of the prophecy, which will lead to his dethronement - he sends in assassins to kill her and Jericho - they fend them off (with a little help) - and Jericho faces Zeus, and is surprised when Delphine and other Oneri join him, and offers a deal to avoid war - they will leave Olympus alone but expect Olympus to leave them alone - and Hades, Artemis, and Eros join them.

The Oneri leaders are Zeth (former Skoti) and Madoc (Oneri) with Delphine as 3rd in command, and Zarek and Jericho as generals. and Acheron pulls out some badassed Dream Hunters (I thought we already had the bad asses, but these are even worse) along with Zarek and Jericho to protect Nick... hmmmmm

battles to come with Olympians? with Noir & Azura? with Nick? hmmmm